womantraveler

Skinny Dipping in Healing Mud

I like to think of Calistoga, California as "the other Napa Valley." At the northern end of Napa Valley wine country and famous for its restorative mud baths and hot springs, "Mud City" has preserved its Gold Rush era lack of pretense when it comes to fashion and health. You might say there is no fashion here, or as little as possible, and that's why I previewed Calistoga in the new online magazine Fashiontribes.com -- for which I am the travel writer. It seemed that Getting Muddy in Calistoga was ironically counterintuitive with the hot fashion and hip trends featured in Fancy Flirts pages. And yet, what's more fashionable than taking care of ourselves? Among the spas and lodging is the tony new age Calistoga Ranch resort is on the outskirts of town, developed by the owners of the Valley's popular Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford. There are lots of wineries, too. But the mud baths and hot springs with the best insider buzz is the funky Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort, which -- beware -- still looks like a 1950s era motel.

Fog City Escapes: Antiquing in San Anselmo

Under 5 feet of water in the New Year's Eve 2005 flood, San Anselmo in Marin County is more fully alive than ever -- revived as a complete small town and the self-appointed "antiques capital of Northern California" (buttressed by similar accolades from Sunset Magazine). Plus, we are talking really really friendly and with small unique restaurants of impeccable quality, trust me (and see below). For directions, cross the Golden Gate Bridge going north up Hwy. 101 to the Central San Rafael exit and follow the signs west along 3rd Street toward San Anselmo.

Here we spend a couple of hours -- strolling from town square past the hobby shop and barber shop to coffee bars, funky shops and one independent bookstore -- then hearing Sunday afternoon blues in the park. What more, besides casual but high-quality eating, upscale consignment clothing, chocolate to die for and fabulous retro-kitsch shopping could a womantraveler ask for in just a few blocks?

Here are the best finds...

Antiques: more than 110 dealers in four collectives and 25 smaller shops, including familiar East Coast Yankee and Midwest finds to Western Craftsmen styles.

Books: Whyte's Booksmith (415.459.7323) -- always a smart used rack for children and adults out front.

Consignment clothing: Sax's (415.456.7655) is our choice (brand new/once-worn Michael Stars' tanks for $20 resulted from a recent foray).

Gifts: The Pink Geranium (415.456.9284) is our favorite but others include Italian ceramics, homestyle design, flowers and shopping for the upscale dog.

Retro chic: Vintage Flamingo has a truly unique and entertaining eye with a fabulous collection of contemporary women's and men's hats and terrific kitsch -- Elvis, I Love Lucy, Betty Boop, chrome toasters and more stuff from the '40s, '50s and '60s, plus some contempo skirts and tanks.

Restos hot pix:

• Bistro 330 (delicious French)
• Chocolat -- the piece de resistance on important occasions
• Comforts Cafe (lattes, breakfast, lunch, and takeout) -- the best Chinese Chicken Salad anywhere and the scene for breakfast and lunch
• Debbie Does Dessert (and lunch) -- often with jazz on the outdoor deck
• Insalata's -- classy upscale cuisine and wonderful service
• Taco Jane's -- smokey black gold salsa, fresh fish tacos, Mateo polenta cake and bright crayon-color decor, who would want Yucatan/Cuban/California-inspired food anywhere else?

Airplane Carry-on Updates

Unsure of the latest airport security measures? Bookmark this FAQ for what to carry-on, especially if you're a woman business traveler, and check regularly for updates. Airlines are posting info boldly on their websites or, like Southwest, emailing frequent flyers with updated info. United is one of many loosening checked baggage maximum weight restrictions temporarily and reminding frequent flyers of special flight-delay notification services by cell phone, fax, etc.

Since the cardinal rule of business travel is always carry on, we'll see if the new restrictions motivate airports to beef up checked baggage handling services, which are woefully slow and inefficient at many locations. Philadelphia International Airport is legendary -- instead of cosmetics onboard, take an extra book to read while waiting what typically is an hour for checked luggage there (and that was pre-Aug. 10). To be safe, women business travelers should consider overnighting clothing and other essential items via FedEx, DHL, UPS and similar shipping services from home or hotel.

Already hotels are responding to the carry-on challenge, too. Omni Hotels have announced that effective immediately they'll offer the following complimentary items -- facial skin care products, women's cosmetics, hair care products, sunscreen, toothpaste, contact lens solution and nail polish and remover. Plus, they'll provide a list of nearby pharmacies with their telephone numbers and hours of operations. Watch other hotels to follow suit.

In-N-Out Burger's Founding Mother

Womantraveler Esther Synder, the founder of the cult favorite In-N-Out Burger, has died at 86, and we remember her this week. Whether you grew up in the post-World War II drive-through hamburger craze or have been indoctrinated more recently, this West Coast alternative to Big Macs, etc., since 1948 has been scoring as the best burger (and, I'm reluctant to admit, best fries). There are many locations, with modern versions of carhops, including an In-N-Out Burger just 5 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 9149 S. Sepulveda Blvd.

And for another taste plus '60s nostalgia, stop at the In-and-Out off Highway 101 north of San Francisco at 798 Redwood Hwy. in Mill Valley. Then drive 10 minutes north to San Rafael -- where director George Lucas used the main street (4th Street) as the 1962 American Graffiti set and the nightly auto cruising to and from Mel's Drive-In. That's the way it really was in San Rafael when Lucas was growing up in the area, and the landmark renovated Rafael movie theater is a popular destination for independent films.

Women Traveling Safely

The Turkey blogs raised some interesting questions about women traveling solo safely. We found this an interesting discussion, along with the comments to our Turkey travel series.

Hotel News

Happy to hear that Starwood Hotels have reflagged the Hilton Key West Resort & Marina to The Westin Key West Resort & Marina. If you visit, you'll experience an upscale renovation for the next two years but it's well-deserved. Key West has some of the best sunsets anywhere, but its lodging is hit and miss. These upgrades will include conversion of the Sunset Key Cottages just 500 yards offshore into 37 luxurious residential-style accommodations. Since Key West began moving from funky/laid-back to hot/stylish in the 1980s (and, for my money, a big loss), I vote for classy trumping wanna-be wherever possible there now.

Good news, too, that we can now print out our boarding passes in the lobbies of Marriott and Renaissance hotels. Checking into flights early helps reduce onsite airport hassles, ever more prolific these days.

Hotels are trying to create community -- try harder, I say, since airlines are herding us around like sheep. Sheraton's move in this direction is to invite visitors to share stories, tips and photos about travel finds and hotel experiences. Sheraton calls it "the first hotel industry website to embrace social media and feature user generated concent." There's even a "live chat" option for those needing help with a particular property. The home page "flash" globe loaded a little too slowly in my browser, but something to give a try anyway. I always check out several online sites and compare the visitor ratings, never depending solely on one catalogue of opinions. Everybody's got a fave and a beef about something -- so our job is to be influenced by the opinions that suit our preferences.